Writing this in November,
I believe that this is a Christmas-present-solving
DVD. It is not the well constructed
refined smooth opera of later Verdi.
It is neither the greatest nor the definitive
recording, but it is one that bears
replaying again and again with different
facets appealing to ear or eye.

This is the 1984 La
Scala and the revival by Gavazzeni of
an opera which had not been produced
there for half a century: an odd ‘trivial
pursuit’ fact when we remind ourselves
that it was written for La Scala. Indeed
La Scala had invited Verdi to ‘name
his price’ for his next opera after
the success of Nabucco. Whilst
it has the requisite arias, ensembles,
hymns and grand scenes, it does not
have the smooth, simple libretto or
music. It is not the greatest but the
music foretells some of the greatness
to come.

This production has
its own greatness. It is not the ‘one
set fits all’ production. It uses the
cavernous height of La Scala to quite
excellent effect: whether in the opening
scene of massive arches for the square
outside the cathedral; the use of magnificent
drapes for Acciano’s palace or Arvino’s
tent; or the lowered symbolic shield
upon shield. And that ignores the small
fortune spent on costumes for the huge
chorus. All extremely stimulating and
evocative.

So what of the singers?
Which incidentally raises the question:
is there a leading role? Pagano the
villain who becomes the redeemed hermit
around whom much of the plot revolves;
Arvino as the leader of the Crusade;
Giselda, his daughter, who without explanation
manages to get herself captured by the
enemy, Acciano; or Oronte, Acciano’s
son, who falls in love with Giselda,
and he with her, with no preliminary
about how they met or why she is free.
All very loosely plotted to enable fun
to be poked at the opera – but who cares?

With a twenty year
younger José Carreras as Oronte,
no-one will care. He is on top form:
everything middled, excellent of diction,
tone second to none and enough colouring
to compete with the costumes. Cued at
Oh madre mia to lead into it,
La mia letizia infondere, is
delivered with tear-jerking power and
brings forth entirely justified roars
of audience approval.

That reception is also
accorded on occasions to Ghena Dimitrova
but I am not convinced that it is entirely
justified. From time to time, instead
of trying to fill La Scala with the
sound of her voice, she seems to be
trying to demolish it. The unfortunate
consequence, particularly on high, is
that she becomes squally and not at
all comfortable on the ears. Which is
really very sad because when piano
on high she can and does float notes
and leaves them hanging in mid-air –
with a quite exquisite sound.

Silvano Carroli as
Pagano - the evil, does not succeed.
He is an uptight Pagano, the static
deliverer of arias. However Silvano
Carroli as the hermit is just that –
provided you rid yourself of your unjustifiable
assumption that a hermit should be a
wizened old man. As Pagano, he sings
well and particularly Sciagurata!
Hai tu creduto (the only occasion
when the orchestra are a little competitive).
As the Hermit he sings excellently and
particularly in the last scene: deep,
warm, brown of tone and smooth of timbre:
singing to savour.

Of the leading roles
that leaves Carlo Bini’s Arvino – with
whose sound I seem to have problems.
Therefore I hawked the DVD to friends’
players and also a retailer, with no
improvement. The problem is that too
often his voice seems slightly muffled
– as if there is a shallow piece of
cotton wool over whichever microphone(s)
is picking him up. Occasionally this
problem arises elsewhere; and, then
the sound suddenly becomes crystal clear
which causes regrets over the preceding
lapses of clarity as to what might have
been.

The supporting roles
are small and all are despatched ably
but with no real opportunity for vocal
display.

Of course, as a Nabucco
sequel, there has to be a large role
for the chorus. So here we have both
a large role and a large chorus who
provide a serious depth of sound with
good disciplined dynamics even if their
diction leaves something to be desired.
The disadvantage of a DVD is that you
can immediately identify the cause of
the problem: no wide mouth opening or
appropriate mouth shapes for the words.

This is 1984. Cameras
then distracted. Even the great Carreras
actually looks at the camera from time
to time as do some members of the chorus.
Gavazzeni cannot resist a glance. His
is the staid style of conducting. He
produces an excellent performance from
the orchestra, now lingering lyrically,
now driving dramatically. Franco Fantini
plays the violin solo prelude of Act
III and fully justifies the applause
accorded him.

Despite my reservations, this is a (Christmas)
present pleaser. There is so much to
enjoy.

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